The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant may be restored in six or seven years once the territory where it is located is liberated, the head of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Ukrhydroenergo, Ihor Syrota, said in a June 6 interview with the company's press service.
"Then (after the liberation), we will be able to drain the site of the explosion, conduct a survey, and dismantle the destroyed buildings and parts of the Kakhovka hydroelectric complex. And then, we can start rebuilding the station," Syrota said.
Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and the adjacent dam exactly one year ago, on June 6, 2023, causing a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
In July 2023, the Ukrainian government approved a resolution to start a reconstruction project at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which will be split into two stages and last two years.
Ukrhydroenergo has lost $138 million in annual revenue from the sale of electricity and additional services because the hydroelectric power plant was destroyed, according to Syrota.
The draining of the Kakhovka reservoir upstream of the dam resulted in unfavorable operating conditions and periodic power restrictions at Zaporizhzhia's Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, including its two power stations and other hydroelectric power plants connected to the Dnipro River.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant caused the loss of 343.2 MW of nameplate capacity and 192 MW of regulating capacity, which are necessary for the operation of Ukraine's energy system, Syrota added.
Russia's destruction of the reservoir has also led to problems with water supply to industrial complexes in southern regions of Ukraine, which partially cover Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts.
In March, Ukrhydroenergo assessed its losses stemming from Russian attacks at 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion). Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka dam alone has caused over 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in damages.
At least 32 people died in floods caused by the dam explosion in Ukrainian-held territories, according to Ukraine's Defense Ministry.
Russia, in turn, claimed that 59 people died in the territory it occupies, while an Associated Press investigation discovered that in the town of Oleshky alone, the number is at least in the hundreds.
Elsa Court
(Updated: )
